[mythtv-users] TV tuner card recommendations?

[Bryan Mayland]

Brad wrote:
> I am a pretty new MythTV user, and need some recommendations for a 
> good TV tuner card. 
>
> I started out with a very cheap card from Kworld, that I can make work 
> in Myth (with a lot of hoop jumping), but the quality sucks.  So I am 
> considering getting a Haupaugge PVR-150, since I have heard it is a 
> pretty good card and has great compatibility and is reasonably 
> priced.  Here are my questions:
>
> 1) Is this a good card to start with? Does anyone have any positive 
> (or negative) comments about this card that I should keep in mind 
> before my purchase?
> 2) If I do buy the PVR-150, should I get the OEM version (no remote), 
> the "standard" version, or the MCE version?
> 3) Are there any other specific models (by Haupaugge or any other 
> brand) that you would recommend?
>
I like my PVR-250 over the my 150 but quality varies from card to card 
it seems.  They are both very well supported cards so I think they're a 
good start if digital deception isn't available in your country (hello, 
America) I've got a page that discusses some of my findings on image 
quality here:
http://capnbry.net/~bmayland/fi/pvr150/

I don't think the quality is as good as svideo coming from my cable box 
directly into the TV with either card.  The picture is too soft and has 
a lot of blocking artifacts unless you use a high bitrate.  They also 
always have some strange crosshatch pattern at all bitrates (see image 
at above link).  That said, they're pretty much my only option and for 
the record I watch all my SD TV via Myth because the convenience 
outweighs the quality issues even though I can never put it out of my mind.

The difference between the PVR-150 versions:
Standard - Box version comes with a remote and headphone mini-jack for 
audio in. No FM tuner.
MCE - Doesn't have a jack for remote (because MCE PCs come with their 
own remote) and has 2x RCA jacks for audio input (left, right).  FM 
tuner (dunno how well it works under Linux)
OEM - I don't think I've ever seen a standard 150 in an OEM version, but 
I do know that MCE versions are usually labeled OEM because they do not 
exist in a retail version and have no remote. 

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